How to motivate yourself while working out [closed]

Question

How is it possible to motivate yourself for work out? Also during workout I sometimes face problems to move beyond two exercises.

Like after I am done with 5 sets of bench press and 3 sets of deadlifts I start feeling very fatigued. How can this be overcome.?

Would protein drinks do? Or should I prefer energy drinks? Any other way to motivate myself?

Answer 1

Outside of the gym, motivation can take many forms. Some known to be 'better' than others. (See: Should I tell people about my fitness goals for better accountability?). But the most effective by far seems to be making the gym a habitual thing, like brushing teeth, making your first coffee of the day at work, brushing your hair, taking a shower, etc. You want to trick your body into the routine of going to the gym because it 'feels the need to'. I feel weird these days if I don't go to the gym after work.

Inside the gym, there are a few ways you can fight fatigue that you might accumulate, particularly around stuff like deadlifts which tax the whole CNS.

• Pre-workout! You could blow a load of money of fancy pre-workout. Or buy a pot of 200mg caffeine tablets and take 1 before you start, or just have a energy drink, or even just a strong black coffee before. All these things will give you energy.
• Music/Podcasts. Nothing gets me more pumped than the symphonic tones of Dimmu Borgir caressing my ears before going onto my next set of reps. Podcasts help for running long distance as it distracts you.
• Having a work-out-buddy. Can't motivate yourself? Get someone else to do it for you!
• Drinking water. Most people get fatigued really fast because they are dehydrated, make sure this isn't you.
• Eating more food. Low-carb diets do rob you of easy energy and do make it harder to lift (if you aren't in keto). Consider timing a granola bar into your diet to help or eating at a maintenance of calories.
• Sleep enough. Seriously, at least 7 hours of good sleep everyday, more if you feel you need it.

Answer 2

To answer your question regarding motivation, I'd say there isn't a definite way of getting motivated. Different people get motivated by different things. The fact is, motivation doesn't get you to your goal. Grounded efforts and habits do. Just like you brush your teeth everyday, while no one tells you to do so. You don't look for motivation for that or to take a shower. That's because they have become a part of your daily routine, they have turned into habits. Likewise, you need to transform the workout task into a habit. After that, you wouldn't look for motivation. I'm not saying there's something wrong in being motivated by something, but in most cases, motivation is temporary. Habits are permanent and they die hard. Do it till the point you feel like doing it.

Regarding feeling exhausted and fatigued, there may be several reasons for that. First thing is your diet. You need to eat enough in order to sustain energy all day long and to get fully nourished. Keep drinking water regularly, to keep yourself hydrated. This is very important as we are made up of 70% water. You also need to get adequate sleep. When you sleep, your muscles undergo the repair work, so it's very important to have a good sleeping pattern.

I'm no expert on protein drinks and energy drinks, so I can't advise on those. Now taking your workout pattern into consideration, 5 sets of bench press? The things to be considered are the rep/set, the weight you lift per set. Also, if you are doing it right with correct form, or just getting it done.

If you ask me, 5 sets of press with an average of 10 reps for set, gives you 50 reps. That's good enough for a day. I usually lift heavy, so I never go beyond 3 sets of any exercise.